Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance fell 32.4% to 4.83 million shares as of July 15, representing 3.7% of shares outstanding and a short-interest ratio of one day.
• Wall Street’s average rating is “Hold”, with a consensus price target of $11.33; several analysts recently downgraded the stock, while institutional investors own 54.43% of shares.
• ARI opened at $6.50, near its 12-month low of $6.43, after reporting quarterly EPS and revenue below estimates. The company announced a sharply increased quarterly dividend, though the reported $3.75 payment implies an unusually high 230.6% yield and a payout ratio above 100%.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,829,386 shares, a drop of 32.4% from the June 30th total of 7,143,753 shares. Currently, 3.7% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,832,427 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Insider Activity at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In related news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 4,574 shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total value of $49,993.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,799 shares in the company, valued at $271,053.07. The trade was a 15.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARI. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 388.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 2,589 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 61.7% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,656 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 60.2% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,037 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,892 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on ARI. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $11.50 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.33.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE:ARI opened at $6.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $850.59 million, a PE ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.35. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a twelve month low of $6.43 and a twelve month high of $11.24. The company has a current ratio of 81.81, a quick ratio of 81.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company's 50 day moving average is $9.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.36.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.07). Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 48.01%.The firm had revenue of $58.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $77.85 million. Analysts anticipate that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $3.75 dividend. This represents a $15.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 230.6%. This is a positive change from Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio is presently 123.46%.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company Profile

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc NYSE: ARI is a real estate finance company structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company focuses on originating, acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt and preferred equity investments. As an externally managed vehicle, ARI leverages the expertise and resources of an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, a leading global alternative investment manager.

ARI's investment strategy is centered on providing first mortgage loans, mezzanine debt financing, bridge loans and preferred equity across a broad range of property types, including office, retail, industrial and multifamily assets.

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